LASTING impressions

“People come from all over for our bonfire night!” Driving me between leafy country cul-de-sacs, the chatty taxi driver told me all about the town’s multiple Bonfire Societies, their amazing displays of fireworks and burning crosses seen here every year on 5 November, Guy Fawkes Day. “We’re called the Bonfire Capital of the world,” he grinned, a demonic twinkle in his eyes. This took me by surprise. Not the experience I’d previously had in this safe little commuter town just over an hour’s train ride from London’s Victoria station.

The first time was as a child on a road trip